The Final Duel - End of the World
by DynnaChae
Summary: Utena/Anthy - Tenjou must duel one last time, with a most unexpected duelist.
1. The Story Ends

Chapter 1: The Final Duel  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Beyond the castle."  
  
"There's more?"  
  
"All beyond the castle."  
  
"But it was supposed to end..."  
  
"When the story ends, I end."  
  
*~*~*  
  
"Utena... wake up."   
  
A warm, familiar voice. Hands I've grown to know all too well, shaking me from sleep. My eyes fluttered open. I expected to see her when I woke up. She was leaning over me with one hand rested on the side of my face and her other hand rested on my shoulder, trembling.   
  
Trembling?  
  
I rested my hand over Himemiya's and looked at her. She gazed into my eyes with worry. Perhaps I blacked out somewhere and she was concerned. I sat up slowly to gaze at my surroundings. I was in bed. My body was fine. I flexed my wrists. They were fine. Everything seemed fine. I looked at her, she seemed so worried.   
  
"Anthy?"  
  
"Utena."  
  
Her voice carried such gloom and uncertainty. I took a deep breath.   
  
"Are you all right? What's the matter?" I took her trembling hands.   
  
"It's time, Utena. The final duel."  
  
"The final duel?" Why doesn't anyone tell me about these things? While Akio's in the midst of corrupting a school, he really should stop and write out a brochure of just what the hell the duelists are getting ourselves into. The final duel? I thought I fought the final duel. Surely no one was going to tell me that I was going back to Oothori Academy to duel more people for my own lover!   
  
I sighed, "What final duel, Anthy?"  
  
Himemiya sighed and gazed beyond me out of the window. "The final duel that no one has ever lived to fight. I, myself, do not even know who the final duelist is."  
  
"So how do you know about it?" I pulled her into my arms and held her close.  
  
"I am... was the Rose Bride. It's part of me." Himemiya kept her glassy stare beyond me.   
  
"Hmm..." I trailed my eyes over the room once again. How long has it been? Time moved gradually, memories were just that... memories. There was nothing to remember because nothing was supposed to be remembered. Oothori Academy is an illusion created from the greed of humanity. Such power desired, lead to the destruction of the mirage. The key, the link to power, lay in my arms. Where she belonged. No one dueled for the power. No one was engaged to the bride. The castle became a faded memory of the Rose's dream. Great rose, no more. Oothori Academy exists to educate, and educate alone.   
  
"I don't want to question it, really. I don't even feel I should do it. But if it will calm you down, I'll do it." I traced my thumb over Anthy's lips and slid out bed.   
  
"I don't want you to do it. I don't feel right about it." Anthy followed me into the bathroom. "But something keeps me from telling you not to." She leaned against the bathroom door and rested her hand over her heart. "I will be your Rose Bride forever, Utena."  
  
It was funny, actually. To talk as if we were going to be separated. The duel would end and I would be the victor or I would be the loser, and in the end, Anthy is nothing but a woman. "So... when and where is this duel?"  
  
"Right now. At the end of the world."  
  
I picked my head up and raised a brow. "Have you lost your mind between last night and this morning? The end of the world?" I crossed my arms.  
  
"At the end of the world, Utena." Anthy's eyes began to water as her voice wavered. She closed her right hand around her left hand and held the ring on her ring finger close to her heart. She sighed as tears slowly flowed from her emerald eyes. She was serious.   
  
Now dressed, I stretched a little. Anthy sat on the windowsill and continued gazing out of the window. We'd said very little between the time I'd stepped in the shower until the time she seated herself at the windowsill. It was starting to set an unease between us. I wanted to speak, but she seemed so fragile.   
  
I'll be honest. It frightens me a bit. Because I have no idea what's going on. It frightens me to see her so distressed. Neither of us knows anything more than what's in front of our face and what's in our minds. Anthy just holds her ring finger and gazes out of the window. I decided to put all joking aside for the matter at hand. It didn't seem like any of this is a joke.  
  
"But why?" Was all I could ask. "Why is it that I have to duel for nothing?"  
  
"Because the castle isn't eternal."  
  
I sat in front of her and rested my hands on her thighs. I needed her attention now. This was moving too fast for me. "Are you saying that all of this is still just some sort of game for power, Anthy?"  
  
"The castle isn't eternal. And everything that shines within it will soon dull. And reality becomes part of the past as the future desires to be molded. The prophecy says so. They ignore the prophecy when they enter the castle. They walk right pass the truth and ignore the concept of conservation. In the end, their greed overtakes them and their resources run out. Desperate for more, they seek to bring back what made the castle so bountiful in the first place. They seek out the bringer of miracles. It's a story about greed and lust and envy. A man's struggle for power. And how it slips through his fingers like sand." Himemiya parted her hands and held up the Bara no Koukuin. She silently slid the ring off her finger and slid it on to my ring finger.  
  
It's the first time I wore the ring since Himemiya and I reunited. When everyone forgot, she remembered. Their miracles seemed to fade while hers remained everlasting. She was the creator of miracles. But she was my miracle. And there was no way I'd let anyone take her from me to use as their own. When it came down to it, Himemiya was just a girl. Not a witch. Not a resource. She was just another person.  
  
"Till the end of the world..."  
  
Himemiya turned to look at me. "What?"  
  
"I'll love you... till the end of the world and farther than that." I pulled my hair out of my uniform and stood up. "We should go." I extended my hand to help her up.  
  
Anthy took my hand and stood to her feet. I hope I gave her some hope in promising to love her. She knew it was true, but reminding her might have helped even a little bit.   
  
"Will... you kiss me?" Anthy looked up at me hopefully.  
  
I brushed the back of my hand across her cheek before leaning in and passionately kissing her soft lips. I savored the taste of her for almost a year now. The thought of never again holding her this close made my blood run cold. This final duel had better be the final one.  
  
"And with this battle... the story ends." I wrapped her in my arms.   
  
"When the story ends, I end."  
  
"Don't say that."  
  
"We must go... to the end of the world." Himemiya took my hand. "We must finish their story."  
  
"And then we'll come home."  
  
End of Chapter 1  
  
Notes: OK now! That moved fast! It's a two-part story and the second chapter is up already. I've always wanted to alter the ending of Shoujo Kakumei Utena and I finally got around to it! Wai! What fun! Since Anthy and Utena are on a more intimate level and Anthy has developed emotions, her and Utena more of just casual lovers instead of Duelist and Prize. That's why Utena calls Himemiya, "Anthy".  
  
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Shoujo Kakumei Utena or any of it's characters. 


	2. The Story Begins, Anew

"Arisuguwa..."  
  
Juri pressed her hand over her heart as she gazed into my eyes. We stared at each other for quite some time. Mikki stood to the left of her, Nanami to the right. Juri turned her head slightly and lifted her eyes to the sky, almost in disgust. Cursing the sunlight. Cursing life. She turned her turquoise eyes to Himemiya and then back to me. Dropping her hand, she stood straight up and cleared her throat.   
  
"It's strange, Tenjou, that I remember everything now that I see you again. When you left, I began to forget everything. I even forgot why I wore this..." the tangerine haired duelist held her ring-bearing hand up. "Though, I never took it off. It bore significance to me, and I didn't want to take it off. Now that I remember everything... I want to take it off. But I won't."  
  
"Where is the end of the world, Arisuguwa?"   
  
Juri turned her steely gaze back to Himemiya. Her lips curled into a devilish grin as she searched for flaw in Anthy. Anthy drew back slightly and lowered her head. She didn't want to be here any more than I did. It was starting to haunt her. I could feel her being drawn back into her shell. Trapped in this floral prison. A rose-scented torture chamber. Himemiya would never suffer again. I'd die before I let her give her soul back to that man.  
  
"Aah, I see you're still carrying around your excess baggage. She hasn't driven you mad yet?"  
  
"Arisuguwa, where is the end of the world."  
  
"You stand on hallowed ground and know nothing of where you are? Do you ever have a clue, Utena?" Nanami blinked as she said my name. As if she remembered it on queue. She looked up at me and then turned away. "This is the end of the world."  
  
Himemiya closed her eyes and let the wind rock her body slowly. "The end of the world is right here."  
  
"Here?" I stood at the gates of Oothori Academy. I guess... this really was the end of the world. Everything stopped here. Miracles, shining things, happiness... it all stopped here. This black hole, like a void, sucking the life out of anyone who dare enter it's gates. The innocent become ignorant drones as they submit themselves to the roses' venom. Unaware of the danger, they become just another student. Just another part of the working machine that siphons the miracles and the shining things. But the machine seizes if one part is lost. The power. If the power is lost. Then the end of the world just becomes a dead end. I understood now. They wanted to bring the Rose Bride back. They would have to get through me. This was the absolute destiny. Apocalypse was too near, desperation set in, the machine fell apart.  
  
I found myself growing angry with the entire situation as the elevator made it's way to the top of this illusion. Would the observatory become the arena? Would the arena become the observatory? I gazed down at Himemiya who was clinging to my duelist uniform. I wrapped my arms around her and rested my head on top of hers. She was trembling all over. What was on her mind that hurt her so badly? "It'll be over soon, my love. You have nothing to worry about."  
  
"The story ends, and I end."  
  
"Please stop saying that."  
  
"I can't make miracles anymore."  
  
"You don't have to."  
  
"I have to... to save everything."  
  
"Himemiya..." I closed my eyes slowly, trying to fight the will inside me to become a student, a slave to the system again. I swallowed hard. I was no longer a part of Oothori Academy. Neither Himemiya or I would fall victim to it's brainwash ever again. "Anthy..." I started again. "I will protect you. You're not responsible for anything other than yourself. We'll go home and go back to normal. We'll even eat shaved ice for dinner." I smiled softly to reassure her.   
  
"Promise you'll come home with me."  
  
"I promise, Anthy."  
  
The gates opened and I stood at the entrance to a most elegant castle. The upside down castle? Yes. This was the upside down castle. Inside was the sleeping Dios. Such a rumor! So I would find out what's in this castle, finally. "I thought it was gone."  
  
"They make you believe what they want you to believe, Utena."  
  
"So it's still gone and I'm looking at another finely processed illusion." I pressed my hand against the large door.  
  
"I don't know." Himemiya clasped her hands. "The sword."  
  
"Grant me the power, to revolutionize the world!" It was starting to come back to me slowly. Why I dueled, how it felt. The rush of Dios' power racing through my veins. The knowledge that everyone desired. It felt dirty. A shameful high. Everything about dueling in this school was disgusting. I didn't want to belittle myself anymore. I was tired of giving my body to this upside-down world.  
  
Himemiya stood in a larger room. She never did wait for me. I leaned against the frame of the door and gazed in. "Here?" I moved across the floor tensely, "The duel is in here?"  
  
"The world ends here..." Himemiya drew back the curtains.   
  
"But there's nothing in here Anthy."  
  
"Come..." Anthy walked over to a large, elegant mirror. It looked as if it had been polished five minutes ago. The sun sparkled off of it's platinum finish from top to bottom. It hurt my eyes a little, but I turned my gaze to my reflection. I just stood there. It was just a reflection. Where's this duelist anyway? "Himemiya..." I shut my eyes and exhaled "Anthy, where is the duelist?"  
  
Himemiya stepped back. "Human greed... your own greed, Utena."   
  
"What?" I turned back to face the mirror. "My own greed?"  
  
I stepped back as the mirror shattered. Shards fell to the ground but my reflection still stood there. It wasn't possible. It can't be possible! No! I saved her! I saved her from this torture! How was I greedy?! "Tell me!!! How was I greedy?!"  
  
"You took away their miracles. Their greed and hunger for more manifested into the duelist before you. Your reflection is their embodiment of the hate and greed of this world. You must defeat your and their greed." Himemiya slid her glasses on to her face.  
  
"You wanted to leave!" I stepped back.  
  
"I'm scared... Utena. If you beat your own greed... you'll never have to duel again. Defeat it! Take me home!" Anthy stared into my eyes.  
  
I nodded and gripped my sword as the advanced towards me. This perfect copy of me. Mirror Utena, the greed of the world. She was made to be the ultimate duelist. My perfect counterpart. She would anticipate my attacks, she would try to destroy me so that Himemiya would stay with her. It was her greed driving her. I backflipped and landed on my feet as she swung at me.   
  
"What about roses??" I ducked and counterattacked.  
  
Anthy stepped to the side as I landed beside her. "This battle is to the death. You can do it, my love."  
  
"Death?!" I ducked as Mirror Utena swung at me.   
  
"You can do it" was all Anthy said.   
  
Mirror Utena held up well. She anticipated my every attack. I would have to think on my feet and move faster. She was starting to wear me out. This greed was stronger than I could ever be. I was tiring fast. I fell to one knee and gasped for air.  
  
"Utena!!! Look out!" Anthy stared wide-eyed as Mirror Utena charged towards me. I rolled out of the way just in time. I tried to stand up. I would get her this time. Only when I placed my weight on my feet did I realized that I rolled into the shards of glass from the mirror. It was a deep gash, bleeding profusely. I tried to ignore it for the moment. The pain started to work its way upwards as I was becoming dizzy from the pain and from being exhausted. I stood up and swayed, dazed. The room was spinning and everything was becoming blurry. I could barely make out the pink-haired duelist advancing on me with lightning speeds. A victorious smile passed her lips.  
  
She drew her sword back and drove it into my chest.  
  
Or she would have...  
  
Had Himemiya not jumped between the blade and me...  
  
In a moment, memories flooded back into my mind. Seeing Anthy's smile for the first time. How she used to call me Utena-san. The way she gaze into my eyes when we lived in the observatory. I remembered how she would wait for me to win every duel. She knew I would win. I remembered reaching out for her as the platform shook and the illusion came crashing down. How we reunited. She drew me into her arms and kissed me passionately. I relived the first night we made love. I remembered sliding my duelist's ring onto her finger and telling her that she was the only prince I wanted. And then... I saw her fall to the ground. And the memories flashed, and then they were rapidly disappearing. The tears couldn't come, I was too angry to register the pain. I moved too fast to feel my sword slice clean through her neck. I didn't even hear her head hit the floor. But she was gone. It was then that I let my first tears fall...  
  
Himemiya lay in a puddle of her own blood. She looked so helpless. I pulled her into my arms and held her close.  
  
"The story ends." Himemiya whispered.  
  
"Shh don't talk. Don't talk at all." Sliding my duelist ring off of my finger, I placed it back on hers. "I'll take you home." I carefully picked her up and carried her out of the castle. The sun's cursing light shone down on us. I didn't even feel the pain in my leg anymore. I wanted to get her help.   
  
Juri stood outside the entrance. She looked up at us. "What happened?"  
  
"We need to get her to the hospital."  
  
Juri eyed me and then took Himemiya's body quickly as I collapsed to the ground to cough up blood. I lay there, pitying myself. Hating myself. Because I couldn't save her. Because I didn't know how.   
  
Juri looked down at Himemiya's form. "What's her name?"  
  
"I don't know." I pulled myself up and staggered back into the castle.   
  
"Where are you going?? Hey!"  
  
I vanished into the castle.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Hai, Sensei!" A student moved his seat from next to Wakaba to the back of the room.  
  
The instructor pointed to the empty seat where a dark-skinned girl with purple hair seated herself.  
  
Wakaba leaned over and whispered. "Hi! What's your name?"  
  
"Himemiya Anthy." The girl smiled brightly.  
  
"Wow! Cool name! Why did you transfer to Oothori Academy?" Wakaba gazed at the girl.  
  
Himemiya held her ring-bearing hand up and gazed down at the Bara no Koukuin. "I don't know."  
  
Wakaba shrugged. "Oh well, I'll show you around! We'll be friends!"  
  
Himemiya rested her hand on the table and smiled "I'd like that."  
  
Class let out and Himemiya and Wakaba walked through the halls as Wakaba pointed out a few aspects of the school. Anthy idly glanced around the school. She stopped walking when she caught a glimpse of a young, pink-haired girl tending to the roses.   
  
"Who's she?" Himemiya leaned out of the window to look through the glass of the greenhouse.  
  
Wakaba leaned over to glance in also. "Oh, that's Tenjou Utena. She's a strange girl. I believe she's with the student council. She's quiet, doesn't speak much. She's weird."  
  
Anthy stared out the window again as Utena turned to look up and out of the greenhouse at the same time. The girls locked eyes and Utena smiled sweetly. Himemiya pushed herself off the window and walked away. She gazed down at the ring once more and then hurried off to catch up with Wakaba.  
  
And so... the story begins anew.  
  
End @}---,---  
  
A/N: *stretches* I always envisioned Utena becoming the Rose Bride in Himemiya's place. Common of me to put an angsty twist on it. 


End file.
